too late to tame the inferno
by AlwaysPadfoot
Summary: Marlene realises a little too late to fix the mistake she's made.


**AN:** Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.

 **WARNINGS: Various Types of Abuse & Character Death**

* * *

 **too late to tame the inferno**

 **AlwaysPadfoot**

* * *

Marlene is twelve when the names arrive on her wrist.

Regulus Black and Steven Greengrass. One is destined to be her soulmate, and the other? He is doomed to be her enemy. She scoffs when the names appear in black cursive and pulls her sleeves back over them before she leaves the bathroom to go to class. She doesn't care for boyfriends and girls fawning over the rich and famous men in magazines. Marlene only cares about her friends and Quidditch.

"You're late, Miss McKinnon," Professor Slughorn calls when she arrives to class.

James shoots her a look as she slips into the empty chair beside him and then questions why she's late.

"It's nothing." Her voice is dismissive and James doesn't press for answers.

Marlene remains in a bad mood for the rest of the week.

 **oOo**

Marlene jumps when her dad's hand shoots across the dinner table to grab her wrist. She's thirteen. He pulls her to her feet and pushes back her sleeves roughly.

"What is this?" His voice is loud and no else one dares jump to defend her. "Why did you not tell me these have appeared?"

"I—" Marlene begins.

Gripping her arm tightly, he jerks her sharply to get her to look at him before demanding to know when they'd appeared. She lies, after all she's been hiding them for over a year. Unfortunately, it's as though he knows she's lying.

He sends her upstairs and she cries furiously about how unfair it if that she's in trouble. She didn't even want these stupid soulmate and enemy marks. And yet, somehow, it's her fault for letting them appear.

Sometime before she returns to Hogwarts for third year, her father reminds her that the Black's are a dark family. She knows that; she knows the likelihood is that Regulus Black will become a bad person and Steven Greengrass will become her so-called soulmate.

She's not dark; she will never be dark.

 **oOo**

"There's no such thing as love. It's a fantasy," Marlene says as she rummages around her Quidditch locker for her tie. "Honestly, Potter, don't be thick."

She's sixteen. Her red Quidditch top and black joggers are drenched from the torrential rain they've just had practice in; she's freezing cold, and James Potter hasn't shut up about Lily for over ten minutes. She's on the verge of hexing his mouth shut. James has his middle finger raised in her direction. She rolls her eyes because he doesn't really look menacing at all with his glasses slightly wonky on his face.

"Shut up, Marls. Love's definitely a thing," James retorts. "Besides, aren't your parents in love?"

"My dad has a mistress and is an—he's a bit of a dick to be quite honest," she tells him.

James shrugs and leaves with Scotty, the team's Seeker. Marlene finally gets into the shower, enjoying the peace and quiet. In fact, she enjoys it and the comfort of the hot water so much that she doesn't realise she's running late for the first class of the day.

She loses ten points for Gryffindor.

 **oOo**

Lily and Marlene are stretched out under the autumnal sun when Steven Greengrass finally makes his presence known. She's caught him looking at her occasionally, but so far, has pretended not to see him. Unfortunately that won't work this as Steven actually asks to speak to her.

Lily and her exchange a look. If anyone knows how much Marlene has been dreading this moment, it's Lily Evans. Reluctantly, she decides she has to speak to him. They leave Lily on the embankment of the lake and find a spot to talk in private.

"So, this soulmate thing…?" Steven trails for a moment before he continues to speak. "I mean, you're my soulmate. Do you think that maybe we can go for a butterbeer on the next Hogsmeade weekend?"

Marlene pulls a face. She supposes that Steven is kind of cute, and he seems sort of nice, but that doesn't really change the fact that she doesn't want to date.

"I don't really want to date right now," she admits.

Steven's expression gives away that he's surprised, but recovers fast and smiles. "Okay. What about not as a date then, just a drink as potentially new friends?"

Marlene doesn't have it in her to say no, so she agrees. If anything, it will get her back to doing nothing with Lily quicker. Steven seems happy with that and lets her return to her spot on the embankment. Swatting away a bee, Marlene drops into the grass beside her friend and sighs.

"How it go?" Lily asks.

"The future is a nightmare. Future Marlene can deal with it."

 **oOo**

Somehow Steven wins her over. Honestly, Marlene's not really sure how, but he brings her gifts and makes her laugh so she supposes it doesn't really matter.

Him being a year older than her, Marlene returns to her final year at Hogwarts alone. She cries a little when she knows that no one's around and writes Steven letters twice a week. For everyone else, Marlene's exactly the same, but for Marlene she feels different. She can't quite put her finger on why. Perhaps it's because someone out there actually loved her.

A run-in with a couple of the Slytherin boy's at a party in the Ravenclaw Common Room serves as a reminder that Regulus Black will never be her soulmate.

"Fuck off," Marlene tells Stenton Rowle as he tries to make a move on here.

"We better keep an eye on this one. She's tricky." Rowle tells his friends

It's a group that includes Regulus Black. They all laugh and Marlene walks away.

Later, after a few more drinks, Rowle grabs Marlene. Rowle pulls her into shadowed corner, pins her to the wall and runs his hand up her thigh, under her skirt. She desperately looks for help. Regulus meets her wide eyes and then turns away, disappearing into the crowd. Rowle has his hand inside her underwear when James Potter and Sirius Black knock the Slytherin to the floor.

It's a night Marlene will never forget.

 **oOo**

"Lily's feeling stabby today," James says as he drops next to Marlene in the library. "Thought I'd sneak away before she hexes me into next week."

They're midway through their N.E.W.T exams. Marlene feels as though she is spending every waking minute studying. Leaning across her, James peers down at the essay she is writing.

"Is that a practice Defence exam?" he asks.

"Yup." Marlene pops the 'p' and bites her lip, trying to think of the name she needs for this paragraph. "Do you know—?"

"No. No, no, no," James interrupts, plucking her quill from her hand and dripping ink across the table. "You wouldn't run a marathon the day before you run a marathon, so why on earth are you doing an exam before an exam?"

Marlene turns impatiently and tries to snatch for the quill James is holding out of reach. "Because, you dickhead, I want to pass tomorrow."

"You're clever; you'll pass," James insists. "If you keep at it and don't get some sleep, you won't be prepared."

"Shut up," Marlene snaps. "Give me my quill, you wanker."

He surrenders the quill, holding up his hands, and leaves her be.

Annoyingly, he's right. Marlene skids into her exam five minutes late the following morning. If looks could kill, she is sure that McGonagall would have just vapourised her on the spot. From across the hall, Marlene can see James grinning smugly before she drops into her seat.

 **oOo**

Immediately after Hogwarts, Steven and Marlene move in together. It gets her away from her father, even though she feels really bad for leaving her six-year-old sister, and a little bad for leaving her mother. The apartment that she is sharing with Steven is large and homely. Marlene settles in fast and starts Auror training early in the autumn of '78.

Steven works for the Department of Magical Games and Sports and Marlene finds herself feeling just a little bitter that he regularly goes with his friends for drinks after work.

To counteract the bitterness, Marlene decides to go on a night out herself.

After a long night of laughter and drinks, she makes her way home. A mixture of exhilaration and alcohol flow through her veins. She doesn't have work in the morning so admittedly she's probably drank more that usual, which is probably why she struggles to get the key in her apartment door. Trying to be quiet, she creeps inside and kicks her shoes off by the door. Unfortunately the apartment being in darkness, causes her to trip and fall flat on her face.

"Marlene?"

The lights are harsh and she squints when they come on above her head. She leans against the vanilla wall to support her as she stands, her gaze falling on Steven. He's still fully dressed even though it's way after midnight and he's frowning.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I left you a note; I said I was out tonight and not to worry," Marlene explains as she fiddles for the zip on the side her dress. "S'on the fridge."

"For Merlin's sake, Marls; there's a war on. You can't just go out with the girls; it's not safe," Steven says.

Marlene sighs. "I'm an Auror, and the guys were there too."

An indescribable expression crosses his face as Marlene unzips her dress. "You don't get it, okay? I was fucking worried, and obviously you don't give a shit."

Marlene tries to call after him, but he stomps away. She decides not to bother arguing tonight. Every time they fight, the bad blood was always gone by the morning that followed. Besides, she's stubborn. Raiding the fridge and falling asleep on the sofa in her underwear is the only thing she wants right now.

Things would get fixed.

 **oOo**

Marlene is home alone when the doorbell rings.

Her wand is in her hand before she can even think, because _no one_ rings the doorbell. It could be a trap. The Death Eater's could have tracked her here to the apartment. Between the Auror Department and the Order, Marlene has practically painted a target on her back. Gripping her wand, Marlene moves to the door, her movements silent.

She peers through the peephole. It's dark — like someone has their hand over it.

Inhaling deeply, Marlene wishes she'd tried to convince Steven to stay home tonight. The doorbell rings again and Marlene jumps. It's now or never.

She wrenches the door open, stunning spell on the tip of her tongue, and then she realises who's standing there. Regulus Black is standing on her doormat, skin pale and eyes wide. He's breathing heavily, as though he's been running.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" she hisses.

"Death Eater's are attacking your parents house," Regulus blurts out. "I tried—I tried to get here faster."

Marlene's heart stops. For a long moment, it's as though the world has frozen. A million plans rush through her head, but she can barely grasp a coherent train of thought. Instead, she raises her wand higher and points it directly between Regulus' eyes.

"Please," he begs. "You have to go; there isn't time for you to hate me."

Marlene searches for any sign of deceit in his expression — she finds none.

 **oOo**

The house is a blazing inferno by the time Marlene apparates to her childhood home.

A scream escapes her throat as she rushes forward. The wall of heat hits her like a wave, the heat burning her face and drying up her throat as she screams her younger sister's name. Once she's within ten feet of the front, the front window blows out, showing her with shards of glass and knocking her to the ground. The breath rushes from her lungs, leaving her gasping and gulping for air on the scorched grass.

She's too late. _Why is she always late?_

The air around her is so dry that no tears fall as she sobs, fists clenched in her hair.

"Fuck," she screams, dragging the word out. "Fuck, no. No. No, no, no. Not this, not this."

She can't breathe. She knows nothing can be done. The house is engulfed in white hot flames; anyone inside would have been incinerated. Marlene is trapped in cycle of rocking and sobbing. She's terrified. Her thoughts are so nonsensical that she has no idea what to do.

"Marlene!" Someone yells and then suddenly there's arms around her, lifting her up. "Marlene. Merlin, I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead."

Steven is hugging her and she's crying. He whispers that it's going to be okay over and over and then, suddenly, there's a crack of Apparation. They both break apart. That's when Marlene clocks him, the Death Eater, preparing to cast.

"Diffindo," he yells.

The flash of blue is hurtling towards Steven. Marlene doesn't even think, she just throws herself into the path of the spell. It slices into her shoulder and she crumples to the floor. Her vision tilts dangerously, the world at an angle as the Death Eater strides through the grass. She whispers Steven's name. Fearing she's about to be alone in her last moments on earth, Marlene chokes back another sob.

"Wow, she really did think you were soulmates," a voice says.

"What, what? What—Steven?"

Marlene's vision is clouded as the harrowing words burn themselves into her memory. A foot connects with her side from behind and she gasps.

She's about to die.

She's about to die and she's just learnt how her relationship was a sham. Steven takes great satisfaction in telling her as he puts her under the Cruciatus Curse. Marlene barely holds on to the reality of the situation as he does. His words turn to white noise in her ears.

Darkness seeps in from the edges of her vision.

This is it.

* * *

 **Comps and Prompts**

 **Romance Awareness:** Day 5 — You have your soulmate's name on one wrist and your mortal enemy on the other

 **LiM:** Marauder - Marlene/Regulus

 **IHC:** 319\. Spell - Diffindo

 **365:** 10\. Action - Running late

 **SC — Days of the Year** — September 5 2018 - Be Late for Something Day: Write about someone who is always late

 **SC — Summer Prompts** — (dialogue) "There's no such thing as love. It's a fantasy."

 **SC — Colour Prompts** — vanilla

 **SC — Flowers** — Sunflower - (creature) Bee

 **SC — Elemental Challenge** — (word) Inferno

 **SC — Shay's Musical Challenge** — 35. Hair - write about someone having to fight in a war. alt, write about being pulled between two people

 **WC — Character Appreciation** — 11. (relationship) Father and Daughter

 **WC — Disney Challenge** — Q4. "We better keep an eye on this one. She's tricky."

 **WC — Cookie's Crafty Corner** — Scarf: Word set: freezing, gift, sharing, wonky and comfort.

 **WC — Book Club** — Offred: (dialogue) "The future is a nightmare.", (word) mistress, (colour) red

 **WC — Showtime** — 3. You and Me (But Mostly Me) - (trait) Selfish

 **WC — CYB** — D5. "You don't get it, okay?"

 **WC — Ami's Audio Admirations** — 10. Greg James — Use the prompt set: (trait) determined, (character) James Potter, (dialogue) "You wouldn't run a marathon the day before you run a marathon."

 **WC — Em's Emporium** — 13. Bex (DobbyRocksSocks): (quote) "[...] is feeling stabby."

 **WC — Lo's Lowdown** — Q4. "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love." - Washington Irving

 **WC — Bex's Bazaar** — 3. Manny (Manfred) is technically a woolly mammoth which is an extinct relation of the elephant, and Ice Age is a brilliant movie, so he's here anyway - Write about someone fearing being left alone. Alternatively, write about an unlikely friendship.

 **WC — Film Festival** — 23. (action) Dramatically jumping in front of a bullet/spell for someone

 **Word Count:** 2329


End file.
